This Is Not A Toy, It’s Toyota’s New Pixis Mega Kei Car [31 Photos]

There’s something fascinating about kei cars, don’t you think? Just check out the Toyota Pixis Mega, a new model that looks just like a toy car (and has a name that reminds of one too).
The Mega is the latest member of the Pixis family supplied by Daihatsu under an OEM agreement, following the Pixis Space, Van/Truck and Epoch.

You may not believe it looking at the photos, but the Pixis Mega can seat four adults “comfortably” – provided that they don’t exceed the average height of Japanese males of 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) by too much.

Coincidentally, that’s the exact height of the lateral doors, which feature a one-touch electric sliding mechanism for rear passengers, improving access to the cabin.

Cabin height is a class-leading 1,455mm (57.3in), of a total vehicle height of 1,835mm (72.2in). Despite being much taller than wide, Toyota says the Pixis Mega offers stable handling, thanks to overhauled suspension and body structure.

Because it’s so tall, the Pixis Mega offers visibility similar to a minivan, with the eye-point set at 1,387mm (54.6in). Driver visibility is also enhanced by an extra passenger-side mirror (located below the side mirror), which offers a view of left-hand side of the vehicle. Mirrors have also been placed in the upper interior sections of the rear doors, improving visibility behind the vehicle.

Toyota says the new kei car also offers “substantial storage space.” There’s a dedicated storage space beneath the trunk floor with a capacity of approximately 90 liters (reduced to 16 liters on 4WD models). This extends the total trunk height to a maximum of 1,485mm (58.4in), which means large objects can be loaded upright without folding down the rear seats.

As all kei cars, the Toyota Pixis Mega is powered by a 0.66-liter petrol engine, offered in two versions: naturally aspirated with 52PS (51hp) or turbocharged with 64PS (63hp). Prices for base two-wheel drive models, which average as little as 25.4 km/L (3.9 l/100 km or 59.7 mpg US), start from 1,350,000 yen ($10,930).

PHOTO GALLERY

These cars are not delivered to dealers by trucks, they come in FedEx packages.

McF1

This is more fascinating than the new Audi A4.

Ilbirs

I like kei cars, due to the fact that less centimeters of their tiny footprints are wasted when compared of what happens in conventional sized cars around the world. The rules are very clear: an automaker can do anything so long it’s powered by a 660 cc engine and up to 3.40 m long, 1.48 m wide and 2 m tall. When seeing the huge variety of solutions brought by Japanese makers to this challenge, you notice that bigger cars could be more kei-ish in their solutions.
I’m not talking only about these tall boxes on wheels like the Pixis Mega, but you can see a lot of another good solutions. See, for example, the N family from Honda and be astonished by the solutions we know in the West in a Fit/Jazz or HR-V pushed to another level. After seeing this and what other kei cars have, I don’t believe how many great things we are missing at this side of the world, not only in interior but also in packaging and mechanical solutions.

If a B sized car had all the solutions we see in a kei, most of us would opt for it instead of a bigger ride, as it’d serve perfectly to all the tasks we normally trust to a C or D one. You’d have lots of room and wouldn’t even have to prescind of some good things an autoenthusiast loves, as there are keis in every forms and drivetrain layouts. You can imagine by yourselves how would be a kei-ed C or D and see how wasted are possibilities in the vehicles far from the Rising Sun.

rover10

I’d love one of these if allowed on the Silly Isles. Such a vehicle with an electric engine would be ideal for their tiny roads, and would make an excellent taxi. If ever those little islands decide to allow a number of cars on their roads, Toyota have just the vehicle.